The Ramayana

In Our Time

BBC

History

4.6 • 9.2K Ratings

🗓️ 6 April 2023

⏱️ 50 minutes

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Summary

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Ramayana, the ancient Hindu epic which is regarded as one of the greatest works of world literature. Its importance in Indian culture has been compared to that of the Iliad and Odyssey in the West, and it’s still seen as a sacred text by Hindus today. Written in Sanskrit, it tells the story of the legendary prince and princess Rama and Sita, and the many challenges, misfortunes and choices that they face. About 24,000 verses long, the Ramayana is also one of the longest ancient epics. It’s a text that’s been hugely influential and it continues to be popular in India and elsewhere in Asia. With Jessica Frazier Lecturer in the Study of Religion at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad Distinguished Professor of Comparative Religion and Philosophy at Lancaster University and Naomi Appleton Senior Lecturer in Asian Religions at the University of Edinburgh The image above shows Rama, Sita, Hanuman, Lakshmana and devotees, from the Shree Jalaram Prarthana Mandal, Leicester. Producer Luke Mulhall

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts.
0:04.7	Thanks for downloading this episode of In Our Time.
0:07.2	There's a reading list to go with it on our website,
0:09.4	and you can get news about our programs if you follow us
0:12.0	on Twitter at BBC In Our Time.
0:14.6	I hope you enjoyed the program.
0:16.2	Hello, the ancient Hindu epic that Ramayana
0:19.0	is one of the greatest works of world literature.
0:21.8	It's importance in Indian culture,
0:23.6	has been compared to that of the Indian and the West.
0:26.9	And it's still seen as a sacred text by Hindus today.
0:31.1	Written in Sanskrit, it tells the story of the legendary prince
0:34.2	and princess Rama and Sita.
0:36.3	And the many challenges, misfortunes, and choices they face.
0:39.7	About 24,000 verses long,
0:41.9	Ramayana is also one of the longest ancient epics.
0:45.5	It's a text that's been hugely influential,
0:47.8	and it continues to be popular in India and elsewhere in Asia.
0:51.4	Rinmini discussed the Ramayana, our Jessica Frazier,
0:54.6	lecture in the study of religion at the University of Oxford
0:57.5	and the fellow of the Oxford Center for Hindu Studies.
1:00.4	Shokaravati Ram Prasad, distinguished professor
	...

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